Stripers in decline?

[Billfish715]

Many people more knowledgeable than I am say that the striped bass population along the Atlantic coast is in decline. Is it? If it is, what are fishermen doing to prevent it? Some of the pictures posted by "for hire " captains seem to indicate that there is no decline nor is there a need to practice conservation. The pictures of boat limits of dead fish must be good for business, but don't they fly in the face of those who are predicting dire straights for future striped bass fishing.

There has to be a happy medium. Two fish over 28" per person seems reasonable when the fish are 28-30 inches. When a boat lands limits of larger fish plus bonus fish, the plot gets thicker. When you look at the total pounds of fish landed vs. the number of fish caught, perceptions change.

Consider a six pack charter with a limit catch plus a bonus fish for each person. If each fish averages 12 lbs. that's 216 lbs. Throw in a few 20+ pounders instead of the 12 pounders and that number increases substantially. It is possible that the charter would each have more than 40 pounds of fish. Even if half of that was trimmed away to leave the fillets, that would be 20 or so pounds of fillets per person.

In states where wild striped bass are commercially sold, the price of fillets can exceed $ 15.00 per lb. 20 x $15= $300.00. But who goes to the local fish monger and orders $300 of fish for dinner. Prices for whole fish start at $5.00 per pound. A 40 lb. fish would sell for over $200. That one fish would pay the fare for one person plus a sizable tip.

I don't have an answer and I know there are people's livelihoods at stake, but I think more captains should take the lead and encourage their clients to limit their take and not always take their limit. A picture of a released fish can be just as satisfying as a picture in front of a pile of dead ones and just as good for business. Limiting your take on a hot bite is a true test of your sportsmanship and makes you a stewart.

If the striped bass population is in decline then we have to look only at ourselves and our fellow fishermen for an answer.

[fishunt]

i agree with you a 100 percent! well said!

[Harpoon]

Billfish...I'm quoting you from 4/2014 off of this website

"Life and fishing are about making choices......personal, ethical choices......" "I have no problem with people who catch and keep fish as long as they are not wasted."

[WhaleFart]

I really couldn't of said it better!

Let the big girls live, only take what you will eat and enjoy the excitement of striper fishing. It makes me sick when I see pictures of garbage pails filled with bluefish that will just end up in the garbage too, but that's a whole nother griper

[tjd24]

Originally Posted by Billfish715

Many people more knowledgeable than I am say that the striped bass population along the Atlantic coast is in decline. Is it? If it is, what are fishermen doing to prevent it? Some of the pictures posted by "for hire " captains seem to indicate that there is no decline nor is there a need to practice conservation. The pictures of boat limits of dead fish must be good for business, but don't they fly in the face of those who are predicting dire straights for future striped bass fishing.

There has to be a happy medium. Two fish over 28" per person seems reasonable when the fish are 28-30 inches. When a boat lands limits of larger fish plus bonus fish, the plot gets thicker. When you look at the total pounds of fish landed vs. the number of fish caught, perceptions change.

Consider a six pack charter with a limit catch plus a bonus fish for each person. If each fish averages 12 lbs. that's 216 lbs. Throw in a few 20+ pounders instead of the 12 pounders and that number increases substantially. It is possible that the charter would each have more than 40 pounds of fish. Even if half of that was trimmed away to leave the fillets, that would be 20 or so pounds of fillets per person.

In states where wild striped bass are commercially sold, the price of fillets can exceed $ 15.00 per lb. 20 x $15= $300.00. But who goes to the local fish monger and orders $300 of fish for dinner. Prices for whole fish start at $5.00 per pound. A 40 lb. fish would sell for over $200. That one fish would pay the fare for one person plus a sizable tip.

I don't have an answer and I know there are people's livelihoods at stake, but I think more captains should take the lead and encourage their clients to limit their take and not always take their limit. A picture of a released fish can be just as satisfying as a picture in front of a pile of dead ones and just as good for business. Limiting your take on a hot bite is a true test of your sportsmanship and makes you a stewart.

If the striped bass population is in decline then we have to look only at ourselves and our fellow fishermen for an answer.

Totally agree as well.
We never keep anything over 30lbs and limit ourselves to one per person.

[pgoins]

IMHO there isn't any issue with the striper population here in NJ. I have caught fish consistantly all spring into july and now the fall run has started right on time and we catching fish in all size range consistantly. Asmfc actually says that the striper fishery is NOT being over fished. So go figure why some believe it's on the decline. I was all for a slot fish. Would have decrease to the take on the big girls by at least 50%. I really didn't care what they did as long as they did it coast wide and shut down the commercial fishery. In Mass alone their commercial quota is 1.2 million lbs this year.

I only really run one charter boat now and the last few springs we only allowed our clients to keep one fish when we were catching the bog cows. And when we were trolling spoons we switched over and targeted seabass or other bottom fish because we believe the spoons put a beating on those fish and mortality is much higher. I know there are quite a few other Capts out there that practice the same techniques, but there are still too many out there that believe charter capt limit out each trip, run 10 trips a week, and then calculate their numbers like that.

One fish at 28 is fine. But I believe we would have better off with one at 24-28" and one over 32". I know that wasn't an option but it sure did work great when we had it 10+ yrs ago.

[emcjim]

Well said, Bill! On a recent party-boat trip, every one was a keeper and all were gaffed. Probably averaged 1 per fare. I caught one, 34#. Pool winner was 52#. Later in the season, the average size will drop considerably. On my last trip last year, early December, I caught 18, no keepers. Nor were there any keepers on the boat.

[Capt. Lou]

It's really tough to get many to limit catches , dock photos seem to rule in a competitive business ! The limits r clearly defined. & those that keep their limits R not breaking any law .
However if their looking to the future, imposing a modified boat limit can certainly be suggested by the Capt. This is far better than inviting a federal agency to impose them for u !
Stripers r easily netted & do not need go be gaffed thus releasing them in good shape is easily achieved.
I do agree that the spoons can tear fish up to some degree as stated , single hooks prevent some of this but the spoon swing can hook many fish & cause damage !
Sort of like treble hook bunkering , many fish can be killed using this method .
Snag a bunker & transfer the bait to a circle only takes a minute & can save many fish that u prefer to release.

[bunker dunker]

must be fall again!!!!!there are plenty of bass.just keep your limit and have fun.

For those who remember what happened when the bass stocks crashed, it will add perspective to this discussion. There was a time where you couldn't find a bass and truthfully it wasn't all that long ago. In general, no species of fish can sustain in my opinion the constant pressure this particular fishery experiences. Since it's a north south migration, they literally get pounded all year long. Not sure if there's a closed season down south but for all practical purposes it's a year long fishery which draws a lot of attention. I'd hate to see all the sacrifices over the last 20 or so years wasted by allowing stripers to slip back to where they were in trouble. Recreational fishing alone, in my opinion, will never push a resource to that point, although taking countless numbers of the big female breeders isn't helping matters. Guys who run charters have every right to keep their limit but to see a shot of 12 or 18 (w / bonus tag) big bass on a dock is difficult to see especially for those of us who went through the years where you couldn't find a bass. Charter guys aren't wrong for doing whatever they have to to make a living, either are most commercial guys who play by the rules. BUT the fact remains that an inshore fishery being worked over all year long will eventually succumb to that pressure if measures aren't put in place to protect it.

The other issue which is just as important is protecting the bunker population. I must say this year was without doubt the most bunker I've ever seen in this area. Usually by mid to late June, the reduction boats have scooped up all the schools. Not sure what happened this year but the amount of bunker we saw in July, August and into September was insane. Not sure what happened this year to cause that but hopefully it's not a one time anomaly. If the bunker aren't managed commensurate with the bass, we'll have a different issue on our hands both of which will result in a decline to the bass population.

As I said earlier, charter boat owners / captains have to do what they have to do to make a living. It's not an easy job by any means. That being said, it is difficult to see a 6 pack charter with some guys who have never fished in their lives standing over 12 or 18 30 lb. fish back at the docks. To me that's excessive and if there's changes made it should be as many have said to limit or further protect the breeders. In my opinion regardless of what the regulations say, keeping that many trophy fish for the grill or to get freezer burn is a waste of the resource and a tragic ending to a truly trophy fish. Not to mention that after getting all the blood lines out and removing the stomach cavity you don't get nearly the amount of meat from these larger fish as you would think. Keep a few if you want, take a picture for memorabilia sake and let the big girls swim away to give someone else a thrill of a lifetime.

Dakota